By Ginger Zee, NBC - Chicago
When I fondly reflect on college, the cafeteria surely doesn't pop as a positive. But
at Loyola University in Chicago, it will be for one group of students changing the world with leftover grease from the café. It's Chicago's own on the cutting edge of bio-fuel technology.
I ran across this story while covering another 'green' event at a new restaurant in the Windy City (The Uncommon Ground). A fully acoustic and dedicated green group of rockers - The Giving Tree Band - were playing as I enjoyed an eco-tini (like s martini - just friendlier - earth-wise). When suddenly a group of seemingly marauding college students rushed the kitchen and said, "We're taking your grease!"
When I fondly reflect on college, the cafeteria surely doesn't pop as a positive. But
at Loyola University in Chicago, it will be for one group of students changing the world with leftover grease from the café. It's Chicago's own on the cutting edge of bio-fuel technology.
I ran across this story while covering another 'green' event at a new restaurant in the Windy City (The Uncommon Ground). A fully acoustic and dedicated green group of rockers - The Giving Tree Band - were playing as I enjoyed an eco-tini (like s martini - just friendlier - earth-wise). When suddenly a group of seemingly marauding college students rushed the kitchen and said, "We're taking your grease!"
Okay, it didn't happen quite like that, but they were there with info about their bio-diesel lab. And they were going to take the leftover grease from fried foods.
In the ultimate test of conservation, a hands-on, interdisciplinary program at Loyola U. challenges students to take waste and transform it into bio-diesel fuel. If this were like any other lab experiment the pressure would be there to get the grade, but this is different. The product doesn't need pass but it needs to be perfect because it powers vehicles driven by Loyola maintenance staff and even some professors' personal cars!
Enter the lab and watch a process that will inspire and give hope for the future. The
leftover grease is brought in barrels. From there, super-smart engineer-types take over. I think I'll let Zach Waickman (bio-diesel lab intern) explain: "Our whole process starts when we go to the cafeteria and gather the vegetable oil - which is the deep fryer grease. Then we put the grease through a 25-micron filter; basically really tiny little holes that take out all the 'chunks' that we don't need. We then heat up the oil, which separates the water from the grease. The grease is then ready to start 'the reaction'. We pump it over into our main reactor and heat it up. Then we add Methoxide (a mix of methanol, which is a very strong grade of alcohol) and Lie (a typical every day grain feeder). Methoxide is the only agent you need to put in to make bio-diesel. We mix the grease and the Methoxide and we re-circulate them together through a pump and mix for about an hour. It then has to sit and separate: glycerin the bi-product at the bottom, and our friend bio-diesel on top."
The bio-diesel still needs to be washed a few times, but it's basically ready. We watched as the students pumped (with a crank-like device) their concoction into Professor Elizabeth Coffman's (Chair of the Communications Department) car. Before she drives away she tells us, "The students have been filling up my Jetta with bio-diesel for 8 months. It's been great." Free gas usually is.
Impressed yet? Well, the students won't let the bi-product go to waste either. Waickman again explains, "There are a number of ways we can refine our glycerin, which is used in a whole slew of daily products (soap for example)."
Better yet, soap with a cause. That calls for extra credit right? (wink, wink - Mr. Professor.)
It feels good knowing there are students studying the future of sustainability and conservation; in what some believe is need-to-be green world. Alas, even if it comes from the depths of a greasy on-campus cafeteria.
Ginger Zee
Reporter
WMAQ NBC 5, Chicago
I have saw a documentary about this type of fuel and found out that they are using COAL to run the machines to make this bio-diesel fuel. Also that it takes more energy with the use of COAL to make this more earth friendly fuel than it is worth. It is crazy - we seem to be polluting more to sell a less polluting fuel?!? Am I missing something here or are we just pretending to be greener. Like a wolf in sheeps clothing maybe?!?